As indicated by the title this invention relates to new and improved pipe holders. More specifically it pertains to pipe holders which are improved over those pipe holders set forth in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,220 issued Aug. 15, 1972 entitled "Pipe Holder."
From a consideration of this prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,220 it will be apparent that it primarily pertains to pipe holders which are adapted to be inserted in a hole in a structural member such as a common wood stud and which are adapted to hold a pipe passing through such a hole so as to tend to isolate the pipe from the stud or other related member while concurrently supporting the pipe. Such holders are "reasonably" effective in reducing the transmission of sound and heat to a structural member or stud and, when the pipe and the structural member are of different metals, in tending to avoid galvanic corrosion. The pipe holders described in this prior patent can be easily and conveniently manufactured at a comparatively nominal cost and may be easily installed in a member such as a stud.
Although these factors would indicate that there is substantially no need for new and improved pipe holders in fact there is such a need. One reason why such a need exists relates to the fact that prior pipe holders as shown in the noted patent normally have to be secured to a stud or similar structural member using a fastener such as a common nail so as to avoid any possibility of such pipe holders being displaced from the holes within which they are initially located. While the use of such a fastener is not difficult or particularly expensive the use of such fasteners is considered undesirable. This is because there is a cost involved in the use of such a fastener. At current labor rates even such small costs can be quite undesirable. In addition on occasion due to error such fasteners may not be used in a particular location.
Although the possibility of the displacement of a pipe holder occurring as a result of the omission of a fastener is relatively remote it is considered that such movement or displacement can occur as a result of various factors such as adherence of the pipe holder to a pipe as the pipe expands and contracts and such motion gradually resulting in a pipe holder "working" out of the hole within which it is initially located. A pipe holder can also be moved from a hole in which it is located when no fastener is used in other manner. It is self evident that if a pipe holder used to support a pipe in a hole is displaced from a hole that there is a significant possibility of the pipe sagging or otherwise distorting so as to be in direct contact with the interior of the hole. Whenever this occurs the consequences such as occur when no pipe holder is used are to be anticipated.